Critical Mass: Fukushima Reactor Heats Up Again

The disaster-ridden Fukushima nuclear reactor in Japan is making sure the Japanese government stays on its toes.

According to earlier reports, reactor No. 2 of the nuclear power plant was believed to be re-heating, a situation, given the high-profile radiation scare that was the result of the 2011 Tohuko earthquake and tsunami, that could potentially lead to a second large-scale nuclear disaster inside of a year.

Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), the company that owns and operates the plant, had indicated thermometer readings showed a breach of limits considered safe.

The readings showed that temperatures had risen to 89.2 degrees Celsius while the normal temperature should be 80 degrees Celsius. The thermostat temperatures have an error variant of 20 degree Celsius.

Meanwhile, TEPCO has increased efforts to cool down the reactor, by pouring in 95.26 gallons of water every hour with one ton of boric acid.

However, a representative from TEPCO felt there could be a chance the thermometers were displaying faulty readings, as the other two reactors showed a drastic drop down in temperatures recorded, to 32.8 degree and 33.1 degree Celsius respectively.

There is an additional worry for the company - the water being poured into reactor No. 2 could turn radioactive itself.

A more recent CNN report, however, suggested faulty thermometers may be the cause of the trouble.

Michael Friedlander, a former senior operator at U.S. nuclear power plants, told CNN that the prospect of another catastrophic explosion at the Fukushima-Daiichi is "virtually zero."

There are a total of six reactors at Fukushima, of which three are still functional. Across the country, there are 51 other reactors, all of which have been shut down for a safety audit awaiting final reports coming out of Fukushima. One of the 6 reactors in Fukushima went into service four decades ago.